Best bookshelf stereo pair under £200?

mattyfez

mattyfez

mattyfez

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I'm tempted by the Dali Spektor 2 in wallnut...

They get excellent reviews and I like the aesthetics... any other serious contenders? there are some missions and warfdales around the same price...

They will be powered by a Tangent ampster II, with a paradigm 10" active sub, and will be replacing my ancient tannoy M1's which are a bit tired in various ways now.... I have nothing but praise for the tannoys though but they sont seem to make a modern equivelant of the M1...

The Dali are 6 ohm rather than 8 ohm which might be better for my amp?
 
Best for what? Also sound is subjective, I could say "BUY KLIPSCH" but they have a forward sound, which you may hate.

8 ohm are easier load on your amp. I've owned a few brands

Kef
Ruark
Definitive Technology
B&W
Ruark
Monoprice
SVS
Rel
Yamaha
Q Acoustics
Celestion
Wharfedale

There are literally dozens of the major brands, Acoustic Energy, Kef, B&W, Arendel, And some internet only ie XTZ

If that is a class D amp don't use high level to the sub, you can blow something up
 
hornetstinger said:
Best for what? Also sound is subjective, I could say "BUY KLIPSCH" but they have a forward sound, which you may hate.

8 ohm are easier load on your amp. I've owned a few brands

Kef
Ruark
Definitive Technology
B&W
Ruark
Monoprice
SVS
Rel
Yamaha
Q Acoustics
Celestion
Wharfedale

There are literally dozens of the major brands, Acoustic Energy, Kef, B&W, Arendel, And some internet only ie XTZ

If that is a class D amp don't use high level to the sub, you can blow something up
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Thanks..the sub has RCA cable to the sub-out on the amp so that's not a consideration really.

They will be used primarily for music, but will be set up as a stereo fronts either side of my LG OLED TV so need to be competent for movies and PC games too (the TV is also a 2nd monitor for my PC for couch gaming.
 
Really need to go to hifi shop. I've found Richer Sounds a bit "yes men" they're sales. They'll push the brands they're told to. I guess you went into RS, as Dali was the first brand they mentioned...I believe they have the highest profit margin.

Go to some small independent shops.

FYI by not having a AVR, you're losign the .1 LFE subwoofer channel, room EQ, time alignment, bass management. Also DD & DTS decoding and downmixing/upmixing. Basically just two channel PCM

When I compare PCM against the DD/DTS mix, even when in DD/DTS stereo downmix, the DD/DTS decoded version sounds a lot better.
 
Thanks but I don't care about any of that to be honest... I just want a decent stereo pair as good or better than the tannoys and I'll figure the rest out.

I'll be buying blind as I also don't have time to audition speakers, so yeah I've primarily looked at richer sounds.

I do like the aesthetics of the dali though, and they have a 5 star 'what hi-fi' review, so I might just buy them unless I see something in the same price bracket that gives me a hard on lol!

EDIT: Although I'm a little concerned aubout them being 6ohm rather than 8ohm -

maybe the mission lx2 MK2 or the Warfdale diamond 12.0 would be a better fit?
 
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mattyfez said:
Thanks but I don't care about any of that to be honest... I just want a decent stereo pair as good or better than the tannoys and I'll figure the rest out.

I'll be buying blind as I also don't have time to audition speakers, so yeah I've primarily looked at richer sounds.

I do like the aesthetics of the dali though, and they have a 5 star 'what hi-fi' review, so I might just buy them unless I see something in the same price bracket that gives me a hard on lol!
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Dali do have a slightly forward sound to them on the treble. Checkout some Wharfedale Diamond 2.1, they have opposite of that, treble rolling off .

If you do have ability to listen to speakers, don't go for the ones that grab you by your ears, typically they will be the brighter ones in your face, like B&W, after a bit you will tire of the sound...unless you have a dead sounding room

Room is important, does it have mattresses on all five sides, like serial killer movies, or is it a bathroom?
 
Hah!

Pretty normal living room space.. probably 15 foot by 15 foot at a guess, couches, curtains&blinds, laminate floor but a big thick rug so not too many reflections?

the amp spec states:

2x50 Watt @4Ohm
2x25 Watt @8Ohm

Current tannoys are 8 ohm i think
 
You probably want pretty efficient ones. I think Dali are far from efficient and low impedence.

Those Dali Spektors need 2x the power of mine to reach the same spl. You want to look at speakers in the 90db range of senstivity.
 
Check the second hand market, your money will go a lot further and there's not a lot to go wrong with a well looked after speaker.

For new I'd lean toward Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 or 12.1's but it's more of a preference thing on my end.

hornetstinger said:
Really need to go to hifi shop. I've found Richer Sounds a bit "yes men" they're sales.
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They are but I've found that if you're up front they'll work with you without hassle, it's best to go in with a clear idea of what you want. They're brilliant for letting you demo things too, which can be really useful, plus if buying new they also price match so it reduces a lot of fussing/shopping around physically.

Still do so online of course, but for the price matching.
 
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Best I can do for my budget is 87db sensitivity..the missions or the warfdales are probably a better match, but they are not very pretty to look at!
 
I do have a an old kenwood A-97 amp which is a bit of a beast, but its too deep to fit in the shelf under the telly, so thats why I bought the compact Tangent amp.
 
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Your old Tannoy M1 were 87db sensitivity with an 8ohm load, so a little bit easier to drive than the Dali Spektor 2 which are 84.5db sensitivity and 6 ohm.

That said, unless your a head banger who continually had their volume past 12, you will simply need to have the volume up a bit.

Q Acoustics 3020i in walnut are currently reduced from £299 to £179 in some stores when you do a Google search, 88db sensitivity at 6 ohms, but fairly deep cabinets, worth looking into. Elac Debut 3.0 DB53 are another £300 speaker that can be had for £220 if your a ViP member of the same store doing the Q acoustics. The Elacs were designed by an Andrew Jones who was pretty good at doing budget loudspeakers, and was involved with brands like TAD when desugning some of the best speakers currently available, as well as a few other reputable brands. Warfdale Diamond 12.1 too, I have a soft spot as my 1st pair of proper speakers were the Whardale Denton as a kid.

In reality there really isnt a whole lot between them all, I tend to trust designs from know names such as the Elacs, and Q acoustics have alwasy done great in many reviews regardless of model. Whatever you choose will clealy be different to your old speakers and take some getting used to, but £120 off those Q acoustics in walnut would be tempting me. As good as I feel the Elacs will be due to who designed them, I simply prefer the looks of the Q acoustics.

Don't get too hung up on specs at those price points, simply look at where they need placed in a room and if you can accomodate that, and if you like the looks.

​

 
sastusbulbas said:
Your old Tannoy M1 were 87db sensitivity with an 8ohm load, so a little bit easier to drive than the Dali Spektor 2 which are 84.5db sensitivity and 6 ohm.

That said, unless your a head banger who continually had their volume past 12, you will simply need to have the volume up a bit.

Q Acoustics 3020i in walnut are currently reduced from £299 to £179 in some stores when you do a Google search, 88db sensitivity at 6 ohms, but fairly deep cabinets, worth looking into. Elac Debut 3.0 DB53 are another £300 speaker that can be had for £220 if your a ViP member of the same store doing the Q acoustics. The Elacs were designed by an Andrew Jones who was pretty good at doing budget loudspeakers, and was involved with brands like TAD when desugning some of the best speakers currently available, as well as a few other reputable brands. Warfdale Diamond 12.1 too, I have a soft spot as my 1st pair of proper speakers were the Whardale Denton as a kid.

In reality there really isnt a whole lot between them all, I tend to trust designs from know names such as the Elacs, and Q acoustics have alwasy done great in many reviews regardless of model. Whatever you choose will clealy be different to your old speakers and take some getting used to, but £120 off those Q acoustics in walnut would be tempting me. As good as I feel the Elacs will be due to who designed them, I simply prefer the looks of the Q acoustics.

Don't get too hung up on specs at those price points, simply look at where they need placed in a room and if you can accomodate that, and if you like the looks.

​

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Those q acoustics look really good, but again are 6 ohm - and i'd want the walnut ones which are more expensive than the black ones for reasons.

Dunno if I should discount 6ohm speakers and only look at 8ohm?
 
mattyfez said:
Best I can do for my budget is 87db sensitivity..the missions or the warfdales are probably a better match, but they are not very pretty to look at!
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There's no accounting for taste!

Joking aside, I must admit I preferred the curved design of the Diamond 9.1's over the rectangle boxes of later versions. Tbh they might be worth a look too if you get on with it, they're probably my favourite budget bookshelf speakers and can be had for £130 new.
 
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mattyfez said:
Those q acoustics look really good, but again are 6 ohm - and i'd want the walnut ones which are more expensive than the black ones for reasons.

Dunno if I should discount 6ohm speakers and only look at 8ohm?
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Best to look at 8 ohm, efficient speakers- with only 25W you need all the help you can get. If you run into clipping you'll damage the speakers- not covered by warranty so you'll have to get them fixed, buy new speakers and need to buy a new amplifier.

Richer sounds should have given that advice out, with such low powered amp choosing inefficient speakers is not a good idea.
 
I've had the tannoy bookshelf speakers for donkeys years...
I can't remember where I bought the tangent amp from... Maybe richer, I can't remember as I bought it on line a few years ago... I'm perfectly happy with it to be honest, it drives teh 8ohm tannoys plenty well.

I just want to replace tannoys as they are a bit tired looking and they've not had an easy life to be honest!

Just a shame tannoy don't seem to make a modern equivalent of the M1s.. Or not in my price range anyway!
 
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Honestly your not going to see or hear anything worth noting between 6 and 8 ohm, as for power, as long as your above 86db why worry, your old speakers were not that sensitive, and here is the kicker, that 8ohm or 6ohm load isnt fixed, it can vary up and down, those Q acoustics will drop to 4ohms at times, it's why amplifiers state various outputs at various loads, it's not like your driving a 2 ohm load.

Q Acoustics 3020i Bookshelf Speakers - English Walnut - £179.00​



That is the price online, apparently you can even get some free C42 speaker cable at the checkout. Those are rated for use with amps from 15w to 75w. If you didn't blow tweeters every week with your old Tannoy Mercury M1 on that amp, your hardly going to start now I would guess. Remember a 100w amp is not four times as powerful as a 25w amp, its around 6db, I have used 15w valve amps with 500w rated speakers and 600w amps with speakers rated for 50w, without blowing things up. Though I have blown things up, it's usually drink related during parties or when I was in my youth.

Remember there are a lot of great budget speakers out there, and most are being run with low wattage amplifiers due to the specifications at those price points, and not many complain. How often is your volume cranked way past half way, if it is all the time, then yeah, maybe then you should be looking at a different amp and speakers, if neighbours are not compaining and you never blew your Tannoy tweeters, your generally fine.

The Tangent ampster II was a well reviewed Class D amplifier. so will be pretty clean right through it's range and often not hindered by 4 or 8ohm loads. Probably far cleaner than a £200 integrated with a class B output stage. Would use something like that myself if it had a headphone socket.
 
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